Rock of Ages (2012)

Thanks for the memories!

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Oh the naive little Sherrie arrives in town, looking as dull as Christina Aguilera in Burlesque or Hayden Panettiere in Heroes. Too blond to have a brain, with a pop voice not so unique, all she can do is pole dance on the top of Mount Rushmore and flip her hair singing oooo yeeeaaaaah on each song. Too tacky, sorry. Now, supporting cast: Alec Baldwin, okay, he can pull it off. Drunk Russell Howard, meh, okay, his glory days as Katie Perry's hubby paid off. Paul Gimatti is famous for being the funny obnoxious assistant, so, sure, why not. But believe me when I'm telling you that the worst supporting act was from Mr. Cruise, Tom Cruise. Oh-so-ridiculous. Keith Sutherland or Rober Downey Jr could have been a MUCH BETTER one.To sum up: don't bother

Tom Cruise and Catherine Zeta Jones rocks the screen on opposing sides of rock music controversy of the 1980s, making up for some weaker leads as Julianne Hough doesn't have a rock style voice and Diego Boneta, who lacks everything else.Still, weak performances did not take me out of the movie, and it was a fun ride from beginning to end.Unlike La La Land, there was no artistic pretension, no Oscar winning song with lyrics like "City of Stars shining ONLY JUST FOR ME????" Can you be more self-absorbed? This was your typical Hollywood fable and followed the beats precisely. It was raw, exciting and big like the 1980s.I do agree with some critics that the treatment of women was atrocious. This film ignored female rockers all together despite using their songs.Still, this film portrayed a male dominated industry so I give them a pass on this.I would watch this film again and again, but that being said, I do not recommend this film for wannabe rock stars and groupies who can't stand listening to other people covering classic songs. These people should not be watching musicals let alone critiquing them. What else is a musical but a cover of every song? Hopefully, as I've read in the notes, this film can be remade by an indie company so it can adhere closer to the stage version. I never saw it but this film made me regret not doing so.Then we will have a true Rock of Ages.

Every now and then you come upon a movie that just makes you want to get up and dance, and for me, Rock of Ages is just that!Based on the live stage production with the same name, Rock of Ages follows a relatively simple plot; it's the 1980s, a small town girl goes to LA in hopes of making it big, she finds there's just more to it than that. She meets a beau, and the rest? Well, you'll have to watch it to find out. Along with a catchy soundtrack, the cast is great; there's Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin as support, along with the likes of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Malin Akerman. This is a movie I pop into the DVD player at least twice a year and just feel so good after seeing!

Rock of Ages is one of the big musical bombs, to the point where Motley Crue wouldn't even let their music be used for it, but is it really as bad as everyone says it is? Well, let's look at the bad parts of this movie. The characters are clichéd, the storyline is predictable, the pacing is slow, and there are numerous unresolved subplots. But if you look past all that, I found it to be actually a lot of fun. I think most of that is owed to its great soundtrack, where every singer in the movie sings some surprisingly impressive renditions of '80s classics. Also, Tom Cruise seems to be having a lot of fun with his performance. It's a guilty pleasure to say the least. Or most. Take whatever you want from that.